Jews and judaism in east asia

Abstract

JEWS AND JUDAİSM IN EAST ASI

The Jewish community in East Asia has been one of the least studied diasporas not only within the framework of Jewish studies, but also within the framework of diaspora studies in general. This paper aims to present a general overview of the history, culture and current situation of Judaism and the Jewish communities mainly but not limited to China with a focus on the primary sources at hand. While the main focus will be on the Jewish communities in Kaifeng and later on the other commercial centers of China which still host the largest Jewish communities in East Asia, the Fugu plan and the Japanese approach to the Jewish communities in East Asia and the planning of Jewish resetllements in Manchuria and Korea by the Japanese Empire will also be dealt with briefly. While the Chinese sources themselves are brief and somewhat confusing on the matter, they are valuable nonetheless, and in this study, the letters from the Jesuits and the Franciscans to Vatican as well as other archival documents from Vatican such as Sinica Fransiscana will be extensively used